Improving Writing Skills Through Peer Assessment

Abstract

The research for this was conducted over a three-week period. In week one, the students were informed about the research and were instructed about all the guidelines, as well as a detailed explanation of the process, they were also asked to compose their first writing assignment essay which was the pretest that will serve as the first data for further comparison. In week two, the students were explained how to identify mistakes and improvement opportunities with the use of a checklist, as well as a list of references to provide feedback. The students used the checklist to evaluate the compositions from their partners at the moment of reading their papers. This checklist consists of different criteria, based on a quantitative score, found in their textbook for the current year. The objective is to introduce students to peer assessment and help them to understand how their essays are graded, and provide suggestions to edit and correct mistakes. They were instructed on proofreading and editing techniques. They were asked to swap their first productions with a partner to be evaluated by a peer. The students were taught about how to evaluate their partner’s paper. With the use of the checklist, the students evaluated their partner’s composition and identified mistakes, and opportunities to improve their own composition as they evaluated and provided comments on their partner’s work. The students were also instructed to give positive and impartial feedback, explaining the relevance of this process. The list of references and suggestions for feedback aided in the process as they identified their own mistakes too. During week three, the students had to apply what they learned in the process and submit a final draft of their previous writing assignment. This will serve as the second data source for the comparison and analysis of the effectiveness of the strategy.